After a long and successful run at the Civic Underground, a change of music policy at the venue has put Digital Therapy on the road again and on Saturday we headed to E11even nightclub on Oxford Street, just past the edge of the lockout zone (don’t tell Casino Mike!). It turns out that this is where it all began for the Digital Therapy team, even before the days of the Wolf Bar at Home (the venue with no toilets!).

Despite the location and the absence of lockout/curfew restrictions, I don’t think it will be a long time before Digital Therapy moves on because this isn’t an ideal venue. The downstairs bar is damp and so strongly air-conditioned that it’s cold even on the dancefloor. The sound wasn’t the best, although I suppose it was ok, unlike the toilets, but perhaps it’s time to change the subject?

We arrived and greeted friends as Big J was bringing his warm-up set to a close and were up and ready for Melbourne’s Factor B, making his Sydney debut. Factor B came to prominence last year with two massive tunes, Stratos Galaxias and Sacrosanct. We’d actually seen him last year in Melbourne, supporting Dan Willis of Neptune Project, who has consistently played both tunes in his sets.

As a massive fan of Factor B productions, I was wondering if his DJing would reach the equivalent standard. I needn’t have worried, as with the possible exception of Armin van Buuren feat. BT – These Silent Hearts, I thought his set was absolutely fantastic. We heard both Stratos Galaxias and Sacrosanct, as well as his brand new tune, We Rise Again and these were blended in superbly with great tracks like Simon Patterson feat. Lucy Pullin – The One, Above & Beyond feat. Gemma Hayes – Counting Down The Days and Ferry Corsten – Shanti (Factor B Remix). And how good was it to hear Giuseppe Ottaviani – No More Alone, one of my all time favourite tunes?!

Next up was Digital Therapy favourite, Matt Bowdidge. Matt has been a regular at DT for several years now and it’s not hard to see why, when he delivers so consistently with his uplifting-trance-with-an-edge style. It was great to hear his tunes Final Rising, Second Sun and the new one, The Calling, as well as the brand new track from Aly & Fila and Luke Bond feat. Audrey Gallagher – A Million Voices. Other highlights of the set were Ferry Tayle and Aly & Fila versus Above & Beyond feat. Zoe Johnston – Nubia Good For Me (Ferry Tayle mashup) and John O’Callaghan feat. Sarah Howells – Find Yourself (Standerwick Remix), which closed the set.

The closing set came from Sydney’s own Elucidus, making their Digital Therapy debut, after the original debut was aborted when the DT warehouse party was curtailed by the police. It was a small DJ booth and there was barely enough room for all three members of the group to squeeze in. But they shuffled around and coped very well, considering! They mixed in tunes like Will Atkinson – Victims, John O’Callaghan vs. Commander Tom – Are Am Eye Stresstest (John Askew Remixes, Armin van Buuren Mashup) and The Thrillseekers feat. Fisher vs. Aly & Fila with Solarstone – The Last Fireisland (Elucidus Remash) with Veracocha – Carte Blanche (Sneijder Remix) and Daniel Kandi – Make Me Believe (Elucidus Remix), keeping up the energy in the room through to the close.

Despite the limitations of the venue, the music shone through and this was another good Digital Therapy night. Hopefully a better location will be found in time for the next event.

Thanks to Digital Therapy for letting me use their photos of the event.